Valkyria Gear: The Phantom Chronicles
by Wernher von Braun
Summary: They thought they were only two types of soldier who fought; those who fought because of order and those who fought for their country. However, these soldiers changed everything. They fight not for country, not for government, but for themselves. "You're all diamonds. We'll make diamonds from their ashes, take them into battle with us. We are Diamond Dogs."
1. Dragged from Home

**Dragged from Home**

 **Mother Base, Seychelles Waters**

Finally finishing his cigar, Big Boss opens the left door of the helicopter and sits at the edge, looking at his and his comrades' beloved home. After Pequod landed at one of Mother Base's landing zone, Big Boss disembarks from the flying vehicle and walks away. Few seconds later, Pequod flies away.

Big Boss walks through the Command Platform for few minutes before something pounced upon him. Before Big Boss can react, the thing immediately licks him in the face. When Big Boss manages to get a closer look at the thing that is still licking him without mercy, he finds out that it's DD.

"Alright, DD. That's enough. Get over here."

Hearing that, DD stops licking Big Boss and goes over the talker's position. When Big Boss stands up, he can see that the one who "saved" him was a man with clothes that won't be out of place at Wild West, Revolver Ocelot.

"Glad to see you return, Snake. I am sure DD here is feeling the same." Said Ocelot as DD barks besides him.

"Indeed. Anything worth a thought?" Asked Big Boss.

"There's one. Miller once again stole some of our GMP for his...'project'."

"Did this 'project' involved...Code Talker?"

"...Yes."

Big Boss sighs as he face-palm as well. While indeed thanks to Miller's project that there are some variety for Diamond Dogs' members' food, he used GMP without his knowledge or authorization. Maybe he should "teach" Miller again about some CQC.

"One more thing, Boss. Thanks to Miller's expenditure, I sent some of our men to a mission. You weren't here and I can't contact you either." Added Ocelot.

"As long as they're experienced enough and not on a mission too dangerous for them." Replied Big Boss.

"Don't worry, Boss. I wouldn't send them to a mission like that."

As if on cue, a helicopter arrived. Big Boss, Ocelot, and DD walk towards the nearest LZ. On their way there, they see that the staffs of medical team are approaching the same LZ with few medical beds. When they arrived at the LZ, ten soldiers are coming out from the chopper. Some are supporting the others until the latter can be placed at the beds. Big Boss then looks at Ocelot with displeased face.

"Maybe I talked too soon." Said Ocelot with low voice.

After letting the medics tending the wounded, a masked soldier approaches both Big Boss and Ocelot.

"Mission Report: Things went very wrong." Said the soldier as he gives a salute.

"I can see that very clear." Said Ocelot with a sarcasm. "What happened?"

"It supposed to be a simple grab-and-snatch mission. When we were extracting from the field, we got attacked."

"Do you know who attacked you?" Asked Big Boss.

"Let me think, sir... Yes, I think I know them. You sirs, called them XOF."

Both Big Boss and Ocelot's eyes become wide before they look at each other. Then, they look back at the soldier.

"Did they follow you here?" Asked Ocelot worried.

"No, sir. We managed to loose them on our way back here."

"That's a relief." Said Big Boss simply.

"There's another thing, sir."

"What is it, Silent Mastodon?"

Silent Mastodon turns his eyes to two other soldiers carrying a large metallic box. He whistles and mentioned both of them to come to his position. Both of them see it and approach the trio with each of their hand holding the side of the box. When they arrived, they put down the box and Big Boss approaches it. He kneels and then opens the box. He's surprised by what he sees.

Inside the metallic box is some kind of ore. The color is blue but it's not only that; it's also glowing the same blue as its color. Big Boss can also feels that there seems to be some kind of aura emitted by the ore.

Feeling that he has seen enough, Big Boss closes the box, stands up, and looks at Silent Mastodon.

"What is this?" Asked Big Boss.

"Don't know, sir. We just found it at the same place that we snatched. We thought that maybe this strange ore can help us in expanding Mother Base." Replied Silent Mastodon.

"Maybe. But I never see or hear something like this. Having this in our base can attract some unwanted attention. What should we do with it, Boss?" Asked Ocelot.

Big Boss thinks about it. If they bring this ore to R&D, they can probably find out more about the ore and used it to either create new weapon or upgraded the already existing one. If they can't, well, it's still an interesting finding. On the other hand, this ore can be the first of its kind and thus – just like what Ocelot said – attract unwanted attention. Cipher can perhaps even used it to locate the new Mother Base.

"Get the ore to the R&D and see if they can find something from it." Ordered Big Boss as he comes into decision.

"Right away, Boss." Replied Silent Mastodon and he and the other two soldiers give a salute before taking the box with them to the R&D Platform.

"Well Boss, if you have nothing more to do, Miller asked for you to meet him at the command center. Let's go, DD." Informed Ocelot as he and DD walks away.

After both of them out of his sigh, Big Boss looks at himself and decides that he needs a shower and some rest.

* * *

 **An hour later...**

 **Command Platform**

Big Boss - after taking a shower and had a rest – enters the command center and finds Miller is sitting while reading papers among the staffs.

"You want to see me?" Asked Big Boss as he approaches Miller.

"Ah, Snake. Yeah, I have something to talk about." Miller stands up and approaches a table. "But before that..."

Miller smacks his crutch at the table. Few moments later, someone appears near the table. It's Quiet. Her presence surprises Big Boss and the rest of the staffs.

"Get out! This is none of your business!" Shouted Miller.

Quiet doesn't react for few moments before deciding to comply. After she's out, Miller approaches Big Boss.

"You see Boss, the intel team managed to get some data about Cipher. For some reason, they will send a squad of hitmen to Afghanistan. The one who lead the squad has quite a high rank. I believed that if we extract him to Mother Base, we can find out more about Cipher's intention." Explained Miller.

"I see. By the way, Miller, there's something I must speak with you about." Replied Big Boss.

Before Miller can ask what is it that Big Boss wants to talk about, the former received a call from his iDroid. Miller takes the iDroid from his pocket and accepts the call.

"[COMMS] Miller here."

"[COMMS] Miller, the supplies have arrived."

Just from the sound Big Boss knows that it was Code Talker who spoke. When he looks at Miller, the latter appears to be sweating. Remembering what Miller did with the GMP and there are "supplies" arriving at Mother Base, Big Boss can guess what both Miller and Code Talker are talking about.

"[COMMS] Good to hear that, Code Talker." Replied Miller as his worries increased.

"[COMMS] Indeed. You better finish your job as soon as possible. I can't wait to taste your...masterpiece."

With that, Code Talker ended the call. Miller puts his iDroid back and looks at Big Boss who has a "Got you" face. Before any of them can talk or do anything else, someone enters the room with papers at her hands.

"Boss, this is the result of our research on the ore." Said the staff as she hands over the papers to Big Boss.

"What ore?" Asked Miller.

"I'll tell you later." Replied Big Boss.

Big Boss reads the papers and looks through them. Sure, they're interesting, but none of them caught much of his interest. That is until he sets his eyes on one piece of information.

"Is this real?" Asked Big Boss as he shows the specific paper on the staff.

"Yes, Boss. The ore's compositions are not registered in the periodic table." Replied the staff.

"What? How is that possible?" Asked Miller. Although he still has no clear idea about the ore, at least he knows what is important.

"We don't know, sir. However, we can at least conclude that the ore is either the only one or the first of its kind."

"Both are not to calming. What else that we know about the ore?"

"For now, not much. The research is still ongoing."

"Eer, sir?"

"Now I believed that the time has come for you to explain, Miller." Said Big Boss suddenly.

"W-What are you talking about, Boss?" Asked Miller worried.

"Sir?"

"I can understand if you used the GMP to renovate the Mother Base or upgrading our equipment. But using it to buy supplies to make _hamburgers_?"

"Now Boss, there's nothing to be mad about it. Believed it or not, we actually made a profit from it."

"Sir!"

"What is it, soldier?" Asked Big Boss who finally pay attention to another staff.

"Take a look outside."

Big Boss and Miller decides to approach the windows to have a better look. When they look outside, they see that a big storm is approaching the Mother Base. But it's not only that; mist also begins to enveloped the base from all sides.

"Great, storm is coming. Inform everyone." Said Big Boss simply.

"Right away, Boss." Replied one of the staff.

Before the staff can reach the control panel and informed the rest of the Mother Base, light begins to appear from outside. At first, it's simply an annoyance. However, the light is slowly but steady becomes stronger to the point that everyone in the command center must cover their eyes.

When it happened, the storm has finally surrounded the Mother Base. Then, an earthquake occurred.

* * *

 **R &D Platform**

The situation is more or less the same as the ones in the command center. The staffs and scientists there are bracing themselves and wait for the storm to pass.

"Hey, what's wrong with the ore?!" Exclaim a scientist as he points at the ore.

The ore is emitting more and more blue light.

"It's having a reaction!" Said a male staff.

"With what?!" Asked a female staff.

The light from the ore is now so bright that everyone near it must cover their eyes less they risk blindness.

* * *

 **Command Platform**

After an unknown amount of time, the light is slowly but surely disappear. When Big Boss knows about it, he also realizes that he's currently lying at the floor. He grabs at the edge of a table in order to help him to stand up. After managing to regain his composure, Big Boss approaches Miller, who is having a trouble to stand up. He offers Miller a hand which the latter accepts and finally capable of standing up.

"What the hell happened, Snake?" Asked Miller.

"Don't know. What about you guys?" Asked Big Boss to the staffs that were already standing up.

"We're fine, Boss. As for what happened..." One of the staff approaches a control panel and checks it. "...same thing with you, Boss. We have no idea. However, one thing that we currently know is that we need to do some recalibration and reboot."

"Do it then. Inform me when you're done."

"Right away, Boss."

Big Boss walks towards the door while lighting a cigar. Seeing his expression, Miller asks Big Boss.

"Something wrong, Snake?"

"I have a feeling that this situation won't be quite simple."

* * *

 **And that's the end of the prologue.**

 **I got this idea when I am reading threads about** _ **Metal Gear Solid**_ **crossovered with** _ **Valkyria Chronicles**_ **.**

 **So, what will change with the arrival of Diamond Dogs in the Second Europan War?**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please.**


	2. Sniffing the Continent

**Sniffing the Continent**

 **Command Platform, Mother Base**

Big Boss is currently sitting as he looks at the report of the aftermath of the storm while also smoking a cigar. Apparently, the storm did only little damage that can be fixed in a matter of weeks at most; it doesn't even reach a month.

"Boss, we've done." Reported one of the staff.

"Good. Anything to be informed?" Asked Big Boss.

"Well...you see, sir. I don't know why but no matter what we do, we're unable to gain any status about the outside world."

"What do you mean?" Asked Ocelot who enters the command center.

"I mean that except the Mother Base and the surrounding area, we're unable to know the location of outside world. For example, our base holds the coordinates of Afghanistan. But when I try to enter the coordinates, it shows nothing. It's as if the country suddenly disappear."

Both Big Boss and Ocelot become silent once they heard look at each other for a while before approaching to the location of the staff. The staff moves away as his superiors look at the control panel. Big Boss then tries to inputs the coordinates of Afghanistan. But after waiting for the loading to finish, the result is not satisfying.

"What the hell is happening?" Said Ocelot to no one.

"No idea as well." Said Big Boss.

After saying that, Big Boss receives a call. He takes his iDroid and accepts it.

"[COMMS] Boss, this is Miller. The intel team managed to find a radio signal."

"[COMMS] Radio signal?"

"[COMMS] It came hundreds of mile at the east. So far, it's our only sign of outside civilization."

"[COMMS] That means it's worth investigating. Get a chopper ready, Kaz. I am going to do it myself."

"[COMMS] Better not, Snake. We don't know if there's anti-air defense at the area. I have a solution though."

* * *

 **Few hours later...**

Big Boss is steering a speed boat and heading towards the shore at the horizon. Sitting besides him is one of his buddy, DD. It has been decided that DD will be the one who accompanied Big Boss, being the least suspicious of among other buddies.

When the boat is finally close enough, Big Boss and DD exit the boat and tether it to the beach. After that, both of them walk away from the boat, heading into the inland. When he's away from the sandy beach, Big Boss sees that the land he's currently in is a meadow along with some forest.

"[COMMS] Forest... From the trees, I say that we're in Europe somehow." Said Ocelot.

"[COMMS] Perhaps. Forest doesn't always mean Europe though." Replied Big Boss.

Big Boss decides to head towards the forest. Only few minutes later though, DD begins to bark. The way he barks indicates that he sensed someone.

"Good boy." Said Big Boss as he pats DD.

Big Boss draws his assault rifle as he moves towards the person that DD sensed. When he's close enough, he can see someone is walking through the forest. Big Boss takes out the Int-Scope to have a better look. The person is a man with a rifle and is wearing a civilian outfit.

"[COMMS] Must be a hunter. Boss, he maybe not a soldier, but if you can take his outfit and rifle, you can pass as a hunter." Suggested Miller.

Big Boss silently approach the hunter while the man is looking to the other way. When he's only an arm-reach away from the hunter, Big Boss immediately put the man on a chokehold. This surprise the man, makes him drop his rifle. Big Boss then draw his knife and places it near the man's neck.

"Talk." Said Big Boss.

The man then speak. It sounds strange for Big Boss, but he had heard a similar language spoken by recruits from Europe.

"[COMMS] Alright, Boss. That sounds like French, but there are some hints of Dutch…and he spoke it with British accent. Let me see if we have someone who can understand him." Said Ocelot.

Big Boss waits for few minutes. The man – who was resisting earlier – has begun to calm down, but he can still sense a panic in the man.

"[COMMS] Boss, I found one of our man who can act as a translator. Asked him again."

"Talk." Said Big Boss.

"W-What do you want?" Asked the man, now translated.

"Where am I?"

"Huh?" The man confusion is replaced by fear when Big Boss puts the knife closer to his neck. "OK, OK. You're in Gallia."

"Gallia? Where is that?"

"Gallia is Gallia, one of the countries in Europa."

Silence falls as Big Boss and everyone else hear that words. Something is very wrong in here.

"[COMMS] Boss, I have a bad feeling about this." Said Ocelot.

"[COMMS] So, what do we do now, Snake?" Asked Miller.

"Hmm… Hey, where's the nearest town?" Asked Big Boss to the man.

"You just need to walk a quarter of an hour to the north." Replied the man.

"Thanks."

Big Boss sheathes the knife. But before the man can let out a breath of relief, Big Boss immediately choke him. After few moments, the man lost his conscious. Big Boss then drags the man to a bushes with DD following closely.

Few minutes later, Big Boss comes out from the bushes, wearing the man's clothes; an old green vest over a white shirt, beige pants, and brown boots. He then goes to where the man dropped his rifle and takes it. When Big Boss checks it, he sees that the rifle have a resemblances with WWII carbine.

"[COMMS] Would you look at that? Not something you every day, huh?" Commented Ocelot.

"[COMMS] Ah, I think I know what you want to do, Boss." Said Miller.

Big Boss says nothing in return. He whistles to DD before walking to the north, followed by his trusted dog.

* * *

 **Town**

At the street, the normal activities of the citizens are a little bit disturbed by the fact that there's a man with a lot of scars on his face and to top it off, also wearing an eye patch. It's not that uncommon though, as war veterans can have that kind of look and Gallia is no strange of war.

Big Boss looks around the town, trying to find something that can give him more accurate information about "Gallia" and "Europa". He needs to know as many thing as possible, especially the military capability.

Suddenly, Big Boss feels a poke at his feet. Looking down, he sees that DD is trying to point at something with his right front feet. When he looks at the direction, he sees a building. Taking a closer look, he can see people reading from the glass. The building is a library.

Big Boss pats DD before getting inside. However, a voice stops him.

"Hey!" Big Boss turns his head to the right to see a woman with glasses sitting behind a desk. "No pet allowed inside, sir!"

Big Boss gives a sign for DD to wait outside. He closes the door and looks around. Finally, he finds the bookcase he's searching. While he can't read the word on the case, he sees the similarity with the word "geography". He searches through the bookcase and finally found an atlas. It's easy because the word is printed on the side of the book.

Big Boss opens the atlas and looks around the pages. He manages to find the pages with a big word "Europa" on it. Look around to make sure that no one is near, Big Boss takes out the iDroid and scans the page. After that, he searches again and found the map of Gallia. He did the same thing with the map before returning it to the case. There are still many things he wants to search, but he'll save it for some other times.

Big Boss goes towards the door. Suddenly, a man in blue military uniform comes into the library. His presence attracts the attention of almost everyone inside, including Big Boss. The man takes out something from his pocket. He then reveals it to be some sort of poster.

"Everyone, listen! A deserter on the run has been spotted near this town half an hour ago! Anyone who see this face, please contact the authority ASAP and don't approach him! His rank is only a private, but his skills are not to be underestimated!" Shout the soldier.

The face at the poster is in black and white, but the Big Boss can guess that the man has a pale skin and dark hair.

"[COMMS] You hear that, Boss? A deserter. We might get ourselves an informant." Said Miller.

"[COMMS] Yeah, but you have to be fast. The military is looking for him as well." Said Ocelot.

"I am on it." Replied Big Boss.

With the soldier now exit the library, Big Boss follows suit. Outside, DD is sitting near the door. He then start to walk around the town, hoping that DD will find the deserter. At the street, he can see a number of soldiers looking around. They're equipped with a baton and a pistol – looks like semi-automatic – on their belt. Some of them are looking at Big Boss, possibly because of his scars or eye patch. Maybe both. But none of them paid further attention.

Suddenly, DD starts running to one of the alley. Big Boss runs to follow him. After running for a minute or two, DD finally stops in front of a stack of crates. Big Boss takes out his tranquilizer gun and slowly approach the stack.

"Come out! I know you're there! No use hiding!" Ordered Big Boss.

For the first few seconds, there's no response. Then, a pair of hand outstretched from behind the crates. Slowly, the man appears from behind the crates; it's the same man from the poster. He's wearing the same blue uniform but appears to be dusty and more ragged.

"Y-You're not from the military." Stated the man.

"I am. But I am your ticket to get out from here." Replied Big Boss.

"W-Wait, you'll help me?" Said the man in disbelief.

"Let's just say that I need a man, especially someone from the military and a deserter."

"…It's not like I have any choice, am I?"

"You have. You can choose not to follow me. But I doubt you can escape."

"You're right, sir. Anyway, name's Carl. What's yours?"

"Call me Big Boss. Or Boss for short."

The man appears curious about that, but decided not to ask more about it.

* * *

 **Few hours later…**

 **Command Platform, Mother Base**

In the end, thanks to Big Boss' skills and DD's help, the trio managed to escape from the town and went towards the shore. Because there are only two seats at the boat, Carl must share it with DD. There was no problem though and Carl seemed to enjoy rubbing DD and the latter didn't mind.

When Big Boss brings Carl to the platform, he's awestruck by what he sees. Big Boss has no idea whether it's because of the buildings, the helicopter flying nearby, or the soldiers walking around. Perhaps the combination of three.

"So he's our new recruit?" Asked Miller as he approach the trio with Ocelot.

"Recruit?" Said Carl in confusion.

Without warning, Miller hits Carl with his cane. Or rather try if Carl doesn't catch it and take it away from him. Miller lost his balance but Ocelot manages to prevent him from falling.

"What the hell?!" Exclaimed Carl as he slowly return the cane to Miller.

"Yeah, definitely one. Worry not, kid. You'll like it here." Said Miller as he takes back the cane.

Miller then calls one of the Diamond Dogs soldier. After talking to him, Miller gives a sign to Carl to follow him. Carl at first feels uneasy, but Big Boss then also give the same sign. With that, Carl, Miller, and the soldier leave Big Boss and Ocelot alone.

Ocelot walks closer to Big Boss and reveals his finding.

"Boss, that map…if you compared it with Europe…"

"They're similar, but there are some differences." Said Big Boss. "What is happening here, Ocelot?"

"I think I have an idea. And I don't like it."

* * *

 **And done.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please.**


	3. Old and Vintage

**Old and Vintage**

 **Answer to a review:**

 **GJO1088:** Well, the Diamond Dogs might start to produce oil for Gallia when the war started. Also, while XOF won't make an appearance, logistic won't be the only problem for Diamond Dogs.

* * *

 **Aerial Command Center, Gallia**

Big Boss is currently smokes a cigar while looking at DD who is having a nap. He smiles a little before deciding to play one of the tapes that he has. At the tape that he chose, there's a label "About Europa [1]: Story of Gallia". Big Boss examines the tape for a while before putting it in a walkman and plays it.

" _So, after spending some hours in here, what do you think about the Mother Base?_ " Kaz

" _It's…unbelievable. I never see anything like this in my whole life! This place…is basically an artificial island._ " Carl

" _Well, I can't disagree with that. Now, I am sure this is a time for you to…give us some appreciation._ " Ocelot

" _How?_ " C

" _Simple, really. Just your basic identity and anything you know about Europa, especially Gallia._ " O

" _Umm, OK. So, alright, my name. My name is Carl. I was born…_ " C

" _Wait, that's it?_ " K

" _Huh?_ " C

" _No last name?_ " K

" _No. I am a Darcsen, so I don't…wait, none of you know about Darcsen, right?_ " C

" _Pretend that we don't. But let's save that for later._ " O

" _Alright. I am Carl. I was born at March 4, 1908 at the city of Fouzen at northern Gallia._ " C

" _Good, that should be enough. Now, I want you to describe about Gallia generally._ " K

" _Gallia is a principality. It is known through Europa for its policies of armed neutrality and universal conscription._ " C

" _What is a universal conscription and how is it different from an ordinary one?_ " O

" _Unlike the ordinary one, universal conscription makes military training mandatory to almost all civilians from the moment they can aim a gun properly. This happens because Gallia share its borders with two superpowers that can invade you faster than you can say 'I surrender'._ " C

" _I see. While I can understand the policy, this makes attacking Gallian civilians during war time – while still a crime – a lot more justified. You don't want that kind of people out of your grasp. If you can't have them, make sure the same thing happens to your enemy._ " K

" _Yeah, that might explain why many of our civilians tend to be targeted._ " C

" _It's a double-edged blade. You either protect your country but risk your people, or protect your people but risk your country._ " O

" _That should be enough. Now, I want you to describe about Gallian military. The army first if you don't mind._ " K

" _OK, I am going to put it simple. There's two types of forces in the army, the regular like myself and the militia, which is only called during a wartime. Our weapons are rifles, SMGs, machine guns, those usual weapons you find in any military. Our armored forces used mainly light tanks since most of our tactics are based around defensive. I am going to be honest, I don't exactly get it how light tanks and defensive tactics matched up._ " C

" _I can think of some, but I also think that medium or heavy tank is more suitable for defensive. They're harder to crack, thus giving more boost on defense and firepower._ " K

" _Alright. Now, what about the air force?_ " O

"… _What?_ " C

" _Umm, air force?_ " K

" _We don't have this branch called 'air force'. Not even the Empire and the Federation have one. Heck, most of the air vehicles that I know – besides balloon – are still in development stage._ " C

" _Well, that's a relief._ " O

" _Yeah, now we're practically the ruler of air combat._ " K

"Boss, we almost reach our destination." Informed the pilot of Pequod suddenly.

Hearing that, Big Boss ends the recording and puts the Walkman on his satchel. DD also wakes up and appears to be more than ready for a battle. He goes to the left door, opens it and sits at the edge.

"[COMMS] Boss, the client of this mission is…umm, it's us. Sorry, Boss, old habit dies hard. Back to the point, we need you to infiltrate Gallian military base and 'borrow' as many vehicles and weapons as you can. Also, Carl spoke about something called 'Ragnite'. He said you can find it in a jerry can." Explained Kaz.

"[COMMS] So the usual then?" Replied Big Boss.

"[COMMS] Well, I wouldn't call it one. But, it's your choice, Snake."

Pequod flies low enough at the LZ. Once there, both Big Boss and DD disembark from the copter before Pequod flies away.

"Be careful down there, Boss."

As Pequod fly back to the Mother Base, Big Boss takes out the iDroid and look for the possible location of a military base. While there's none on the map, it shows a location of a military outpost. It's a good thing that the Mother Base has some drones in case they can't use the satellites.

Big Boss starts to jog to the nearest outpost with DD at his side. He needs to be careful not to attract any attention. The soldiers in Gallia wear a blue uniform, radically different from what Big Boss and the rest of the Diamond Dogs wear.

After walking for minutes, Big Boss can see a glimpse of the outpost. He takes out the Int. Scope and observes the outpost. He detects and marks four guards, all of them are E-rank. He approaches the outpost slowly and when close enough, he takes out his tranquillizer gun before resuming. All the soldiers are looking at the other way.

Suddenly, one of them turns around. But instead of seeing Big Boss, he's seeing a cardboard box and a dog besides it. Dumbfounded, but doesn't see anything suspicious, the soldier once again turn around. Once he did, Big Boss begins to move again while keeping the box.

When he's only few steps from the nearest soldier, Big Boss checks the location and condition of the three other guards; one is walking inside a tent before deciding to sleep, one is watching the other side of the outpost, and the last one is patrolling and currently far away from Big Boss.

Big Boss puts away the cardboard box, walks over the first soldier, before holding him by the neck. He increases the pressure before letting the soldier falls to the ground unconscious. Big Boss immediately goes to the patrolling soldier, sneaks behind his back, and does the same thing earlier. He then goes to the sleeping soldier and shoots him with a tranquilizer to prevent him from waking up at the wrong time. Finally, Big Boss silently approach the final soldier. But this time, he lets DD handles him. The dog bites an electric rod from his clothing before running towards the soldier and electrocutes him. The soldier lets out a small scream before falling to the ground.

Good thing about the outpost is that it only has three tents. That means searching through for an intel won't take long. While the first tent gave no clue, the second tent was where Big Boss found the file about the location of the nearest military base. It's three miles to the northeast of the outpost.

Knowing how far he's going to travel, Big Boss sends a demand for a jeep to the Mother Base. Few minutes later, a PF jeep landed near him. He embarks the jeep with DD taking the shotgun. Big Boss starts the engine and drives towards his destination.

* * *

 **A quarter of an hour later…**

Just few meters away from the base, Big Boss and DD disembark from the jeep. The former attaches a Fulton Recovery pack on the vehicle and sends it back to the sky. He then takes out the Int. Scope and scans the base.

It's a small military base, capable of at least holding 60 personnel and two dozen of vehicles. From his location, Big Boss can see seven soldiers; two are having a conversation while smoking while the rest are patrolling. From experience and observation, he knows that there are more inside.

Big Boss and DD begin to approach the base. Seeing a gap on the patrol, they use it and are now inside the base. Big Boss starts to look around and with DD helps, manage to find at least twelve soldiers inside the base. Kind of light, but he's not going to complain.

Big Boss searches around the base and see a building guarded by one soldier. Then, there's a soldier with a rifle approaching the first one.

"Something wrong, private?" Asked the guarding soldier.

"Yes, quartermaster. When I brought this rifle to the shooting range, I found out that this weapon is jammed." Replied the other soldier.

To prove his point, the soldier grabs the bolt of his rifle and tries to pull it, but just like he said, it's jammed. Seeing it, the quartermaster goes inside the building. When he's out, on his hand is another rifle.

"Here it is, boy. An unjammed rifle ready for action." Said the quartermaster.

"Thank you, sir."

Both of them trade their weapons. The quartermaster goes inside the building and the other goes somewhere else, presumably the shooting range.

From what he saw, Big Boss deduces that the building is an armory. It does give a sense of one. He approaches the armory and sees that there's no window. Big Boss goes towards the door and peeks inside using the keyhole. The quartermaster is currently disassembling the rifle. Big Boss goes inside with his tranquilizer gun ready. He aims at the head and fires. The quartermaster looks dizzy for few seconds before falling to the ground, sleeping.

Big Boss looks around the armory and sees quite a large number of weapons. He can't bring all of these himself. He's going to need something…like a jeep!

Big Boss exits the armory slowly and walks around the base, hoping to find a jeep or something like that. He's lucky; when he's walking around stealthy, he sees two soldiers driving a jeep. Both of them stop in front of a rather large building. One of them takes out a clipboard before the duo enter the building.

Seeing the chance, Big Boss looks at DD and sees that he doesn't show any sign of sensing nearby soldier. Both of them go to the jeep and embark it. Big Boss fiddles around with the wires to started the engine. When the engine starts, Big Boss drives the jeep and making sure the he used a way where no soldier can see him.

On his way back to the armory, Big Boss notices a fatal flaw in the jeep; some parts of the engine are not covered by the hood. Those parts are also glowing blue for some reason. He's going to ignore it for a while.

Also, Big Boss believes he hears something along the line of "Where the Hell is our jeep?!"

* * *

Big Boss reaches the armory. He disembarks from the jeep and goes inside. There, he sees the quartermaster is on the verge of waking up. Big Boss simply takes out the gun and put him back to sleep. He starts to take as many weapons as he can and puts them in the jeep.

Inside the jeep, there are semi-automatic rifles, SMGs, bolt-action rifles, grenades, pistols, and other equipment. When he checks the weapons, he notices the jerry can attached on the jeep. Big Boss grabs it and opens the can. He can smell something like gasoline but different. And if his eye doesn't fool him, the content is glowing blue, just like the jeep's engine. This could be the ragnite or something that Carl talked about.

Big Boss puts the jerry can back on the jeep and makes sure that it and the weapons won't fall before attaching a Fulton Recovery pack onto it. The jeep starts to float before going straight into the sky.

"[COMMS] Good job, Boss. There's nothing we need for now. Time to return." Informed Kaz.

Hearing that, both Big Boss and DD start to exit the base.

* * *

 **Aerial Command Center, Gallia Sea**

Inside the ACC, Big Boss notices that there is still some recording left on the tape that he hasn't heard. He starts it and listen to the recording.

" _Well, now that is done, I suspect that you haven't eat anything beside the biscuit and bread we provided to you, right?_ " Kaz

" _No, I haven't. You know, I am wondering what kind of food you Diamond Dogs served here, Mr. Miller._ " Carl

" _Well, we have experience of serving food from places our staffs came from. Take hamburger for example_." K

" _Hamburger, sir? What is that?_ " C

"… _What?! You don't know what a hamburger is?!_ " K

" _N-No, sir_." C

" _Damn it, the situation is more severe that what I expected._ " K

" _Umm, sir?_ " C

" _Stay here, Carl. OK? I'll be right back!_ " K

…

…

" _Alright, here it is, Carl. One of the finest example of hamburger we served on Mother Base!_ " K

" _It's a sandwich._ " C

" _What?! No! This is a hamburger! Don't compare it to that two slices of bread with meat and cheese between them!_ " K

" _But…_ " C

" _This. Is. A. Hamburger._ " K

" _Alright, alright._ " C

" _Good. Now why don't you take a bite? I am sure you're going to love it._ " K

" _OK. Here it goes._ " C

 _Sound: Carl bites off the hamburger and munches it before gulping._

" _And?_ " K

" _This…this is…this is…perfect._ " C

" _I know, right?!_ " K

" _I…I don't understand. The bread, the meat, the lettuce…they're not as fresh as the sandwich I used to eat. But the taste, it explodes inside my mouth! How…is this possible?_ " C

" _Well, I'll explain it when I believe you're worthy of the knowledge. For now, just enjoy the hamburger._ " K

Big Boss can't help but roll his eye and smiles a little. That's the Kazuhira Miller that he knows; reliable but can be an oddball.

* * *

 **Mother Base**

Big Boss goes to R&D Platform to check how's the inspection of the weapons and the jeep went on. When he reaches the research place, the researchers are checking over the disassembled weapons while four of them are looking at the jeep's engine.

"Anything worth founded?" Asked Big Boss as he approaches the four of them.

"Ah, Boss. Yes, we found something strange with the machine. Its horsepower is only a little below ours. Make sense remembering that the jeep kinda resembles WWII's. But, for some reason it lets out heat more than what one and a half of our engines can let out." Explained one of the researcher.

"So the reason a part of it is outside the hood is to prevent overheating?"

"Yes, that might explain why the inventor taking such a risky move."

"What about the content of the jerry can?"

"Well, the color is blue and it glows the same color. It's as effective as normal gasoline but more combustible. My friend over here can proof it." Said another researcher as he points at said friend.

That friend shows an annoyed look. Big Boss remembers seeing him with a hair and bread, but now he's almost completely bald. He can guess on what happen.

"Other than that, there's nothing worth mentioning, Boss."

"So we haven't find out what's inside the jerry can?" Asked Big Boss

"Except what we explained, no Boss."

Big Boss starts to walk outside the research place and goes to the edge of the platform. He looks at the blue sky for a while before taking out his iDroid. He won't like his decision but _that guy_ is the smartest person on this entire Mother Base. Maybe he can find out about this ragnite stuff.

"[COMMS] Miller here."

"[COMMS] Miller, listen. I need you to do something that none of us will like."

"[COMMS] What is it, Snake?"

"[COMMS] Get Huey."

* * *

 **And the chapter is done.**

 **If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.**

 **Review please.**


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